


The concept of a gift

by kayejwrotes



Series: How to choose a gift [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternative Universe - Tattoo Parlour, Domestical bliss, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Belated Birthday Iwa, I developed so many headcanons over this little fic it’s a shame, M/M, Tattoo Artist! Iwazumi Hajime, They are married, so much fluff honestly, they are both saps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 14:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14956169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayejwrotes/pseuds/kayejwrotes
Summary: A “gift” it’s something you give to someone else in order to celebrate something, or to thank them for something.Well, someone got the meaning wrong here, apparently, or so Tooru thinks.





	The concept of a gift

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I manage to finish after such a long time... and it’s short.  
> And sappy. And fluffy. And so sugary, honestly.  
> I have so many headcanons for this it’s a shame it came out so short.  
> But one’s gotta appreciate what they get, right? I’m honestly grateful for even being able to finish this.
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy it too!
> 
>  
> 
> P.s.: this work was heavily inspired by a song by Caparezza “China Town”. I know many of you don’t know Italian, but I suggest you listen to it while reading this! :)

“What should I do to you?” Hajime said one last time, gloved fingers smoothing over Tooru’s back.

Unmarked, unblemished, clean canvas ready for his ink.

A kiss, just barely there, more of a casual touch of lips on that one mole nestled right under Tooru’s shoulder, but enough of a touch to have him briefly shudder.

Hajime knew this but let Tooru shrug it off, as if it was just from a sudden shiver of cold for having his torso naked on the leather chair.

“… I offered it to you. It’s your choice what to make of it.”

The low rumble of Tooru’s voice was soft and muffled against his own arm, but Hajime heard it nonetheless.

He kissed the mole one more time, before turning back and picking up ink and needles. There’s soft hip hop music in the background, and the slow intake of Tooru’s breath - in and out - steady and relaxed to give him the right rhythm.

This is going to be great.

Tooru has been there more times that he can remember. The soft buzzing of the machine is not scary to him.  
Hajime has seen him talking people through painful tattoos more than once, even making them smile despite the pain, helping them stay still even in the most tiring moment, when Hajime had to double a very thin line or while working on a delicate particular.

He didn't need to be there, but Hajime had seen him slither inside the tattooing room more than once during an appointment, perching himself on the spare stool he kept there just for him while he started chatting the client off, relaxing them when they needed it.

But the idea of putting his hands on Tooru's skin… that was something that occasionally had been raised in their conversations at the beginning of their relationship, when everything was new and every word was a discovery.  
Tooru had always refused to let himself be tattooed that easily, mostly because he always said he needed the right thing, if he wanted to have it etched on his skin for eternity.  
He admired Hajime’s art with all his heart, but thinking about having only one piece, always the same, on his skin… it didn’t sit well with him, or so he did say to Hajime at the time.

It wasn't something he could do lightheartedly. Not if Hajime was the one crafting art on his body.  
He wanted it to be something he'd love forever, never growing tired of it, he had said later.

Maybe at the start of their relationship had been presumptuous of Hajime to ask this of Tooru, but he already knew, he could already feel the sensation of the thin silver band around his ring finger.

( _He only needed to make him see that ring too, but that could wait a bit more._ )

He never brought the topic up again, though, not even after being married for a year. It was Tooru's choice, it was his skin despite being “one body, one soul” now.  
He respected it.

It was Tooru that brought the question up again one night, not so many days ago.  
He rolled over in their bed, thoughtful eyes looking at Hajime, searching for something that Hajime couldn't quite identify but that he was ready to give him.  
He had promised Tooru to give everything of himself, anyway. They belonged to each other wholly.

Tooru had ducked down slowly, placing a soft, long kiss on his naked shoulder in the quiet silence of their room.

“I want you to tattoo me, Hajime.”  
It had been barely more than a whisper but Hajime felt it, as if a shock of adrenaline had seized his body from the point where Tooru's lips had moved to say the words.

Of course he had wanted to be sure, to be certain Tooru was 100% convinced to let himself be tattooed.  
So he had started asking questions about subject, colours, style and such, but Tooru had only smiled, saying that it was okay, as long as it was something important only Hajime could tattoo on him.

Hajime though couldn't settle for “ _okay_ ”.  
He didn't want to make something “ _okay_ ”. He wanted it to be perfect, magnificent, something unique only Tooru could have on his skin, something he would love for his whole life.

So he had started thinking, drawing on his enormous sketchbook, a cluster of flying papers, clipped post-its and the few bounded original ones that still clung to the inner-linings of the sketchbook.

It was incredibly hard, to think about something Tooru would love.  
Tooru loved many things, many people, but he didn't want to do something many could enjoy.  
He was the one Tooru had married, he was the only one that had the privilege and honour to see Tooru's skin at leisure.  
For once, Hajime wanted to be selfish in a way, and Tooru allowed him to do that.  
He had gifted him his skin, it was only right that Hajime choose the subject and the difficulty of it.  
Tooru was a masterpiece, he deserved nothing less.

Slowly, the sketch had been brought to life, carved out from his mind and soul.

Now, Tooru was shirtless, numbed by the continuous buzzing of the tattooing machine, the needle piercing his skin in long, thin lines of black and grey smoke, and bold oranges and rose and blue up, up above on his shoulder.

High black profiles lining in stark contrast the natural curve of his shoulders and above that, soft white lights, small beacons of aethereal beauty to guide them home when they needed it.

And down, right at the end of the mysterious path life had led them onto, two small silhouettes of boys hand in hand, ready to start the journey toward their sky again.

Under the cotton black mask he had put on Tooru's eyes - “ _I want you to see it finished_ ” - he could hear him humming quietly to the soft music in the background.

Of course he had been a great customer, never showing pain, never moving or twitching.  
Tooru was fantastic and would endure anything for the sake of being seen as strong.  
But Hajime was there to make the process easier, giving him water and gently massaging where he went stiff from time to time. He was incredibly strong and fierce, he didn't need to demonstrate anything to anyone.

It was incredibly exhausting - not something that should be done in one sitting, but he wanted to see it finished as soon as possible, and Tooru was okay with this.

The last few details were added and Hajime took a moment to admire his work, take in the gorgeous gift Tooru had given him.

He ducked down, hand still gloved and ink still on the tip of his fingers, to press a light kiss right there, onto that mole on Tooru skin that was the natural end of his work of art.

Tooru shivered from the sudden wave of fresh air on his reddened skin, barely lifting his head from where he had been resting.  
“... ‘re you finished already?” Voice husky and rough from the last few hours of silence. It almost seemed as if Hajime had awakened him from a very pleasant dream, from the soft smile painted on his lips.

“Gimme a few minutes more,” the reply reached Tooru in between a light smack to keep him still from stretching, which he was already starting to do, “I have to clean it and cover it with cream.”

“So caring my husband…!” Tooru laughed quietly, Hajime snorting along with him, while he wiped away the last few streaks of excess ink from his skin.

“Just doing my job here. I don’t want all this work to go to waste because someone isn’t taking good care of it.” He said casually, gently massaging a generous amount of cream onto Tooru’s skin. He felt his husband’s muscles relax even more from the free massage he was giving him.

“Well…” Tooru hummed, letting any tension go away “If you are gonna massage me this way for all the time this will need to heal, I’m gonna let myself be tattooed more often.”

“You’re such a spoiled cat. I massage your feet anytime you start whining over how much you had to stood at work.” Tooru still couldn’t see anything with the mask covering his eyes, but he didn’t need to see to know the smug smile painting Hajime’s lips “And you work from home, my dear.”

Tooru snorted, giggling.

“That’s exactly the reason why I keep you around, you know. You put up with all of this and still want me.”  
Admitting things like that was something they have worked hard upon during their relationship, but listening to Tooru just so casually declaring it into their conversation made Hajime smile. They had come such a long way into accepting all of themselves, all of each other.

“Mmh. Yes, that’s exactly it, isn’t it.” Hajime’s hands caressed his skin one more time, before he tapped lightly at his side “I wouldn’t want you any other way, though. You put up with me and still want me too, so I guess we are even on this.”

“Ready to give it a look?”

Tooru nodded, hands already going to pull the mask down but Hajime stopped him once again.

“Wait. I want you to see it right... Here, let me help you.”  
Arms were circling Tooru waist, inviting him to sit up slowly, and just as slowly stand up, only now recognising how weak his legs were feeling from all the time sitting on the leather chair.

He grasped Hajime’s forearms, already there to steady him.  
Hajime quietly guided him toward a wall, the one where he knew the big mirror his placed upon, and suddenly left him alone, trying to find his balance once again, while he heard him dragging something heavy in front of him and just stopping there. Probably the other portable mirror he has in the studio.

He felt the pads of Hajime’s fingers, gently grazing through the soft locks on his forehead, moving them away.

“You know, I was a bit annoyed when you told me I could choose whatever I wanted for your first tattoo.” Hajime’s voice came softly from over his shoulder, warm breath caressing the nape of his neck.  
“You had waited so long to do it and now you decided whatever was good?” Tooru heard him click his tongue in that way Hajime did only when was joking around, “Too fucking lazy. But then I understood what the point was and felt ashamed for even thinking something like that about you.” A kiss on top of his right shoulder and the shift of Hajime’s warmth to his side.  
“Thank you, Tooru. This is the best gift you could give me.”

The mask was softly pulled down by Hajime’s fingers and Tooru had to blink a few times before he could see clearly, the light too harsh after being in the dark for a while, but what his eyes saw next was something that had him stopping breathing for a moment.

There, on his back, all his and Hajime life were painted, etched forever on his skin.

Tooru couldn't take his eyes away, vaguely aware that the blurry view was not because of the mirror, but because he was starting to tear up.  
How couldn't he though with such a view?

Nestled on his right hip, there was the beginning of a very familiar path - that of the street they'd been living in since they were kids -, their two little silhouettes, hand in hand, taking the first step on it.  
Before them, the path growing larger and curving slightly, the meadow hosting the building of their middle school, playgrounds familiar as his own hands, Aoba Johsai highschool familiar profile and just above them college, their first apartment, that café they used to spend night studying in for exams. Over those, near the top of his shoulder, there's the very own sign of Hajime's tattoo parlour, with the colony of cats Tooru always make sure to leave food for lounging outside, and next to it there's the little studio Tooru rented above their apartment for himself and under that the gorgeous flower display on their small balcony.  
Above all of that the blue expanse of the sky was littered with stars, and Tooru recognised almost instantly Cancer and Gemini, close to one another, their respective stars shining brightly.

There was a rather inglorious hiccup coming from Tooru, and Hajime’s smile while he pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek was the only thing keeping him from turning around and hitting his husband on the head because that was honestly too much.

“You like it?” came Hajime question, arms sneaking around his naked waist to hug him, careful about touching the freshly tattooed skin.

“Fuck you, Hajime…” and Hajime thought that maybe he deserved the light smack he received on his arm before Tooru turned to hide his flushed face.

“... This was supposed to be your present! Not mine! You had to do something for yourself!” Tooru whispered wetly against the hollow of his neck.

“But I did! I tattooed this for myself, mostly” he had the decency to add that “mostly” because he knew there was another smack coming for him otherwise, “I wanted to see our story on your skin everyday”.

There was silence for a moment. Hajime could feel Tooru rubbing his nose against his neck in that special way he did everytime he got overwhelmed by something, and then the faintest “... You giant sap”.

Hajime chuckled, cheek pressing down on Tooru's head.

“ 'Cause you are that much different.” He whispered, kissing the soft strands of hair on Tooru’s head lightly, fondness seeping through his voice in that moment.

“I don’t need any fancy presents when I have you in my life.” He added with a wide grin, prodding lightly at Tooru’s cheek with his finger.

“Hajime, I swear I’m gonna bite that finger off if you keep this on…!” His husband threatened, lifting his head from where he had been hiding, but his eyes were brimming with happiness and that little smile was tugging at his lips, unable to stay serious anymore.

Hajime laughed. He didn’t need anything else in this world, since life had already gifted him Tooru.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos and such are very much appreciated. They fuel my creativity.  
> Also, you can find me @kayejwrotes on Tumblr! :)


End file.
